KodaSnap

Catching Up

Phew!!! It has been a loooooooong week. I started my new job on Monday and I suspect they may be trying to kill me. I went from a 9-5 four-day work week to working 55 hours this week. Did I mention *phew*?! But I am pretty sure that being surrounded by dogs all day long is about as good as it gets, even if it is some pretty serious labor!

I am loving being so busy, and am getting used to being detached from a computer. Next week is another 55 hour week, then back to normal...phew!

Being so busy, I was sad to see the holidays slip past me without really noticing. I was so busy working that I didn't notice the holiday cheer in the air, and since I worked all day, didn't celebrate Christmas. I was just about to scream from a roof-top BAH HUMBUG!!!! when my husband handed me a box this afternoon. The contents.....only the best present EVER. I have been wanting to jump the Olympus ship for quite some time, years really, and have never been able to do it. Hubby made it happen. He is the best santa EVER!  

Reptilian Stealth

Last year, a friend was using our dock as a home for his boat while he was working on it. He spent many hours in our backyard. On one these days, he told us that he saw a large green iguana slinking around. Psh! Whatev buddy! Watch out for those boat fumes!

Mind you, we are in Florida. One of my favorite places, Boca Grande, which is about a 25 minute drive, happens to be "infested" with Iguanas and has hired Iguana catchers to rid the island of the lizards. However, I have never seen one off of the island. So really, I thought our friend was exagerating (sorry Mike!). Still, I kept my eyes peeled, hoping maybe I would catch sight. And finally, I did! Only, it was a rather small iguana...but an iguana just the same. I scurried to get my camera, got one bad snap, and he ran for his life. 

I gave up on my search.

And then, I came home early from work on Thursday. And there, taking a mid-day siesta, was a large iguana. I should take this moment to tell Mike: SORRY! I swear I believe you now!

I grabbed my camera and tested the waters to see how close he would let me get. First, I started in the middle of the yard (and crossed my fingers that the puppers would stay preoccupied!).

Then I got a bit closer, until I was just in front of the dock. He had his eye on me, but was too lazy to move.

I decided to push my luck. I got as many pics as I could, but I wanted more. CLOSER. So I slowly made my way onto the dock and got within about 6 feet, and got EXACTLY what I wanted :)

And then.....................Tinker The Stinker came prancing down to see what was up lol. Splash! The Iguana took flight and was gone. It was fun while it lasted!

And this last shot is pretty crappy, but I still wanted to share it....after he made his escape from the crazy dog, he took a swim over to the neighbor's dock. I was going to wait him out to see where he went, but I think I like the mystery, it's very Where's Waldo right in my back yard....

 
  
  

Time for the Friday Five!

It's that time again!!! Oh how I love the randomness of Friday 5! Let's get right to it...

1.  Trouble-making dogs.  I desperately want to set up a video camera to see how the naughtiness goes down. I suspect it goes something like this:

Koda: Tinker, I really think that you should not do that.
Tinker: But it's FUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN.
Koda: Oh, ok. I suppose if it's fun....can I join in?
Punky: zzzzzzzzzzz 

2.  Not being unemployed.  Seriously, the most amazing feeling ever! I am so excited to not only have found a new job in this horrendous economy but also that a) I am starting on Monday, which means no time without a paycheck (PHEW!) and aven better b) I get to hang out with dogs all day. Ummmm, yes please!

3.  Christmas cards.  Because really? Is there anything better than getting awesomeness in your mailbox every. single. day? I thought not!

4.  Cotton Candy.  Do I have to say more?

5.  New cell phone cases.  Poor Martha was fitted with a crap case when I bought her. I didn't know any better, so I was fooled by the pretty pink. WELL, I was schooled in crap cases! I got a shiny new case for Martha over the weekend, and I might as well have bought a brand new phone for as excited as I am about it!

and why not?.....my boy enjoying a windy day :)

oh wait! Sneak attack! I'm adding one more....

6.  Windows 7.  Dear Windows 7, I think I may be in love with you. Thank you immensly for FINALLY letting me install my most favorite programs and making me an all around happy computer user again. Sincerely, Me.

Tailspin

Confession: When I'm passing time, and if he is within reach, I twist Poo's* tail. (*Poo = Koda, for those that don't know that pets should never, ever, under any circumstances, go by just ONE name). I absentmindedly spin his tail hair until he gives me a look. a grumble. ok, then I ignore the look and the grumble and keep doing it.

I love his coloring. And when I spin those tail hairs I fall in love with the mix of darks and oranges. So I annoy my dog. and do the tailspin.

 

Raise Your Pinky

I have a confession...I'm a pinky raiser. I cannot control it. Case in point:

 

Yup, that's my little pinky, making it's presence known. Because yeah, it seems that not only does my pinky involuntarily let people think I am a priss while drinking tea, it also wants people to take note of my prissyness while feeding flipper.

He was either laughing with me, or at me.....not quite sure........

Because I Can...

Dark clouds may hang on me sometimes
But I'll work it out

Dave Matthews Band, Dancing Nancies

...favorite song ever. In case you were wondering.

Friday 5

It's that time again! I have been a bit of a slacker lately with the 5 posts, but I'm not giving up!

SO- I have decided that we should dedicate today's 5 to something near and dear to my heart...chintzing (yeah, it's sort of my own word, but chintzy IS real!). While on my trip I had to have a heart to heart with my mother.

It was difficult. It was awkward. But it had to be done. There are certain things that you just should NOT chintz on...

1.  Toilet paper.  ahem MOM!!! I am not suggesting that you do anything crazy, like run out and by the top of the line tp, I am just saying, if I have to go without something else in my life in order to have some plushness, well, the sacrifice would totally be worth it.

2.  Candles.  Good candles are worth the money. Really. They are. Trust me. They smell better. They burn better. They are just better.

3.  Q-tips.  I have had some unfortunate incidents with generic q-tips. I'm just sayin'...this is another instance where plushness is important. I do not want to clean my ears with toothpicks disguised as a cotton swab. Q-Tips or bust!!!

4.  Cheez-Its.  I mean, do I really need to address this one? Do I?! Buy the real thing or go home.

5.  Pets.  One time, I got a free pug, and she has cost me thousands of dollars. Free = chintz = costly. Ok...I am just playing, really, I ran out of things ♥ I love my pug and free (RESCUE!) is the best kind of pet there is.

I hope this week has treated you well, and your weekend treats you even better! 

Happy Friday :)
  
  

Origins

My origins are pretty simple- I'm from New Hampshire. I spent years cursing that simple fact. I always knew that I would leave. I thought that there was so much more for me than what I could get in simple NH. I thought that NH offered nothing (which is really a pretty bold statement, looking back lol). So I got out. And it took me a looooooong time to look back.

Sure, I returned for brief visits. But I never actually felt present on those trips. When I looked at NH, I saw the past. I saw trauma. I saw drama. In my mind, the exact moment that I boarded a plane to go to New Hampshire was the exact moment that I had to resume being the sister of a brother who commited suicide. Because, in my town, that was who I was. I did not want to be that girl. Moving away meant removing that person from my life. NO ONE had to know, unless I chose to tell them. Sadly, you don't get quite the same luxery when living in small town New England. So that was who I was. And that was why I dreaded returning. It refreshed in me all the drama from my past. All my issues, real and imagined.

And then, something shifted. I started realizing that I had the power to shed the stigma. What I went through was not WHO I was. And while I still occasionally realize that in the eyes of some, I will always be the sister of the kid that killed himself, I am alright with that. 

By moving on, and looking forward instead of into the past, I am finally able to appreciate this beautiful place that I orignate from. I find that with each visit I am more and more amazed at the natural beauty. 

I am blown away by this gorgeous state. I love it more than I knew I was capable of. I would like to bottle it up and take it out on occasion, and just reside in it's awesomeness for a bit :)
  

Toddler Squared

While up in NH recently I had an opportunity to do a super quick photo shoot with my best friend's girls. Toddlers. Two of them. I'm not going to lie. I was worried. Then our plans were thrown to the wind, the weather gave me a big middle finger and the sun went out for a pack of cigarettes and never came back.

At first, I didn't think I was going to get a chance to even attempt to get a shot, but I knew I would feel terrible if I didn't at least try.

So I tried.

And only got this of one sweetie pie before she decided she wanted her mommy WAY more than she wanted to be with me and my camera....

Yup, she was not having it :)

Her sister, on the other hand, was allll about the cheese! She was hilarious with her smiles. And all it took was a bride promise of some playtime after the modeling session.

And I have to end this post with a huge shout-out to stay at home moms. Seriously ladies? Seriously?! I am not sure how you do it. How you make it through the day. But you do it. And it floors me. You are my hero!

What's with the Watermark on Your Photo?

This article was written by fellow photographers, and I think it is important to share this, and educate people on why we as photographers watermark our images.

Why Are Professional Photographs Watermarked?
(by Cristy Nielsen & Yolanda Rowe)

As parents, we do everything we can to protect our children. We teach them to look both ways before crossing the street and many other ways to be safe. Photographers have the same responsibilty to their work. Each photograph is important- not just because they are our livlihood but because they are portraits of spcial people: our clients. To protect our work and our clients, we watermark every image that appears online. We hope to discourage unethical people who steal from photographers by copying and using images for their purposes without authorization or compensating the copyright owner and subjects.

For example, let's say your phtoographer posts preview images on a social networking site such as Facebook or Myspace. These photos are intended to show the client a preview of what their session images will look like. If they are not watermarked they cannot be identified back to the photographer who created the image and they could be stolen by a third party and used without permission. This has happened on numerous occasions by companies who will use photographs for their marketing campaigns and then photographers or their clients have found their images and photos on the sides of buses, billboards, etc. Imagine finding a photo of you or your child on a flyer or website for some random company when you didn't give permission for it to be used in that way and you will begin to understand why phtoographers watermark to protect their work.

Federal law is very clear on the copyright of images. The creator of the image (the photographer) is the owner of those rights. A client pays the photographer to take those images, but it does not give them ownership (rights) to what is created. Even if the client purchases a file or print it does not give the client copyright to the image. They are given a license to do certain things. This is called a Usage License and it is illegal to scan or copy it and use it in any way other than which it was intended: displaying the print itself. Even purchasing prints does not give the client copyright to the image and it is illegal to alter, scan, or copy it and use it in a way other than its intent. Copyright is held by the image creator for 70 years by law and infringement is punishable by up to $150,000 in fines PER image.

While it may seem like no big deal to make additional copies of an image, or crop out watermarks in web versions of photos, truly it is a big deal. A photograph works very hard on their images, and this is their livlihood, source of income and how they feed their family. When you copy and scan images you are taking part of the income that they depend on to stay in business and serve their clients in the first place. Watermarking is a nesessary evil to protect photographers, to protect their work and their job security. As Yolanda says: Copyright is like your vehicle. You can give someone the keys to drive it (granting permission to a client) but it doesn't make them the owner of the vehicle."

For more information on copyright, please visit  http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright